In an effort to improve the company’s doorstop delivery, Amazon has quietly acquired RIVR, a company that specializes in developing delivery robots. The company believes the technology will work alongside delivery associates to deliver better safety and improved results for customers.
Amazon Acquires RIVR
According to a recent report, Amazon has quietly acquired RIVR, which is a Swiss robotics company that specializes in developing four-legged wheeled robots that are used for doorstop delivery. The acquisition wasn’t publicized, and the financial details of the deal aren’t known, but the deal was announced to third-party delivery contractors.
In the notice to these contractors, Amazon said that this technology lets it research and test how these devices may be integrated into the company’s delivery operations. The company also added that it’s in the early stages of this journey, and will gather real-world insights and feedback to help decide how to scale the technology in the future.
The Company is Making a Move to Improve Doorstop Delivery
Amazon also said in the notice that it believes that the technology will work alongside delivery associates to both improve safety outcomes for drivers while also boosting the customer experience.
Amazon recently announced it was offering faster delivery options across the country, and this latest move shows the company is also prioritizing delivery safety and the overall experience, rather than just speed.
Doorstop delivery, which is the process of actually taking products from a warehouse and delivering them right to a customer’s door, is often an unpredictable part of the delivery process.
Delivery associates may drop boxes, deliver to the wrong address, leave items in the incorrect places, or do other things that damage packages or lead to a poor customer experience. Also, it’s generally not Amazon employees doing doorstop deliveries, as the company relies on third-party companies, so there’s a risk that these delivery drivers don’t stick to the rules.
In addition to this unpredictability, it’s also very labor-intensive. Many workers lift and carry dozens or hundreds of packages each day, which takes plenty of time, effort, and strength, especially if items need to be carried longer distances due to parking issues or other environmental roadblocks.
Having robots alongside these workers will literally take some work off their shoulders and make deliveries much more efficient.
By automating the delivery process, like how many companies automate sorting, picking, and packaging ecommerce orders, Amazon hopes to further streamline the supply chain and reduce errors and safety concerns.
Amazon is no stranger to enlisting the help of automation and AI, either. In fact, it has spent more than a decade finding new ways to automate its warehouse operations, such as deploying more than a million robots across the company’s warehouse network to help with a variety of tasks.
While this move may help delivery drivers work more efficiently and improve the customer experience by speeding up deliveries and reducing errors, it may also benefit ecommerce sellers.
If items are delivered fast and arrive in good shape, it reflects nicely on the brand the customer bought from, even if they themselves didn’t have a major role in the last-mile delivery process.
